To Explore the World
by skaiia
Summary: Jake English has just moved to Del Rio Texas after being part of a foreign exchange student program. What (and who) he finds in America is anything but ordinary. Rated M for upcoming sex scenes.
1. Chapter 1 - Nerves

Starting out at a brand new school during your Junior year in college is stressful enough. But moving from a completely different country? _Insane_. Yet, this is the exact predicament Jake English finds himself in on October fifth. After being selected to partake in a foreign-exchange program with America and England, within a week he said goodbye to his friends and was shipped all the way into the town of Del Rio, Texas.

He never expected his grandma to actually be dandy with the idea of leaving her; she was in a nursing home by this time after all. However the minute he proposed the idea, a big smile crossed her face.

"Explore the world. Just like I wanted you to."

And so he did. He left a short time after, visiting his gran one last time before he had to catch his flight out. It was bittersweet, lots of tears. Happy ones nonetheless.

Jake sheds a tear as the airplane lands. "Passengers, please find your carry on. Welcome to Texas," a smooth voice overhead announces. Well, this was it, wasn't it? It was time to start anew. He heaves a short sigh before standing on wobbly legs, grabbing his carry-on from the upper compartment.

Those same uneasy legs carry Jake through security, to baggage claim, and finally to the cab that awaited him.

"Where to, dude?" The scruffy older cab driver asks. He was obviously a born and raised Texan; his accent was so thick, so foreign to Jake that he can hardly understand it.

"To 630 Mabel Drive, if you please," he says, his voice groggy. He realizes for an instant that he's hardly spoken to anyone in about sixteen solid hours. He makes it a point to call his gran as soon as he gets back to his hotel.

The drive was surprisingly short, and Jake pays the man (not without a bit of difficulty, of course. American money was a tad complicated). He's barely able to thank the driver before he speeds off, leaving Jake to gawk at the huge hotel before him. He gulps, and takes his first steps into the lobby.

The chaos of getting situated in the hotel was barely chaotic at all, which Jake was extremely thankful for. His bags were carried for him; something that didn't usually happen in the less extravagant hotels in England. The jet-lagged and starving brunette flops down on the stale sheets in his hotel room, orders room service, and then calls his grandmother. She answers within two rings of the telephone.

"Jake darling? Is this you?" Her frail voice murmured through the receiver.

"Hi gran it's Jake."

"Oh I see you made it!"

"That I did! It's only noon here can you believe it?"

"That's certainly something, Jakey. Now please be a good boy over there, okay?" Her voice wavered a bit. Jake knew that was a sign she was going to cry.

" I will, I promise. I'll be sure to send you a postcard."

"Please do, I've always wanted to go to America. And Jake, dear?"

"Yeah gran?"

"Be careful out in that big world," she says. A sniffle is heard from the other line.

"…I will. I'll make you proud, gran." It was Jake's turn to cry a bit now. "I love you. Make sure you have Reggie get the right medicine for you."

"Will do, Jakey. I love you too."

"Bye gran."

"Good evening, darling." Click.

Tomorrow is his first day at the University. The foreign-exchange workers didn't give him much time to adjust, did they? No matter. He would have been just as nervous if it were a week from now, anyway. The day goes by uneventfully before Jake finally lets himself sleep.

His alarm clock rings three times before he finally notices it. _Shit_, he thinks to himself, leaping out of the bed and quickly grabbing new clothes. He's out the door in less than ten minutes, with a bandaid across the right side of his jaw as the result of a shaving mishap.

The first cab he grabs gets him all the way to the University, good luck on his part. But a hefty bill is due to the driver… He really needs a car.

_Okay, _he thinks, _first class is physics. Building E. _He looks up. Building E could be seen on the far right.

As Jake is walking, his hands start to shake. He hadn't realized the caliber of the situation he was in until he stops right in front of the double doors to the class. He thinks of his gran, telling him to "explore the world".

Just like she wanted him to.

Here goes nothing.


	2. Chapter 2 - That Kid

The physics lecture is already well into a discussion about kinetic energy when Jake swings the old wooden doors open. His heart is already pounding in his chest, but when the professor stops in the middle of his sentence, it drops through the floor. _Oh gee whiz I've done it now, haven't I, _he thinks, closing the doors behind him.

The entire class of about one hundred people have turned to look directly at him, as well as the instructor. He could practically feel the sting of embarrassment as his face heats up.

"And who may you be?" The professor suddenly asks, his lips pursed and his foot tapping slowly on the pedestal.

"Er, my name is Jake, Jake English, I'm your foreign exchange student?"

"Oh yeah okay, I've heard about you. Everyone say hi to Jake." The class mumbles a half-hearted greeting. "Please take your seat up front here, you can sit next to Dirk." He points to a platinum blonde up in the right corner, who was bent over his textbook. Jake nods, gripping his rucksack tighter as he shuffles down to the empty seat at the left of Dirk.

As he sits, Dirk turns to glance at him. Jake smiles politely, but is a bit surprised when the man only gives him a nod. _What a weird guy. He has some weird shades too. _The professor returns to his lecture, but Jake is completely lost; he did walk in ten minutes late. He turns awkwardly to the blonde, tapping him on his shoulder.

"Er, sorry to be a bother but would you mind getting me a bit caught up with the subject matter..?" A hopeful glance is sent his way.

Dirk blinks, not bothering to turn to him. "I think you would be better off copying from someone else."

Jake looks to his left, noticing the several empty seats. "Uh, there's no one else in this row."

Dirk rolls his eyes and reluctantly hands him his paper. "Here you go."

Jake thanks him, and takes a look at his notes. They were completely covered in doodles of robots. They filled up the margin, and took up the center of the page as well. He really was quite the artist, and Jake takes note of that almost instantly. He copies down the usable notes as quickly as possible and hands him back the paper. Not another word was shared between the two for the rest of the hour.

It was only when Jake gets up that the two interact again. As Jake stands, he fails to realize that his bag is wide open, and his papers spill out everywhere along with several pens, which roll down the slanted hallway. Great.

"Oh bother," he grumbles, and is red in the face as he begins to pick up the fallen papers.

A gloved hand touches one before he can get to it.

Dirk picks up a paper, and then another, handing it to him.

"Need a hand?" He asks, his southern accent a bit thicker than Jake remembers.

"That sure would be admiral," he nods, looking up at him. Wow, he was tall. And muscular, as it looked to be. He must be a hit with the ladies. He stops himself from staring for too long, and starts to gather the pens. Soon enough, the mess is taken care of.

"Thank you, er, Dirk is it?" He says, a bit unsure of his name still. The man nods, confirming his question.

"Of course. So, you're new?"

Jake nods, a blush burning at the shells of his ear. "Yeah, I moved from Colchester," he replies a bit meekly.

"Neat. What's your major?"

"Biochemistry."

Dirk looks impressed. "Wow that's quite the field." They begin to walk out, and Jake celebrates a little victory; he might have just made a friend. Thank god.

"It seems very interesting. What about you?" Jake asks, cocking his head to one side and adjusting his glasses.

"Robotics."

"Wow. Neato," he says, smiling a bit. This time, Dirk smiles back.

The rest of his first day is filled with nothing but awkward first introductions. No one thereafter bothered to spark a conversation, either. No one but Dirk. Jake can't help but think about him. He actually went out of his way to talk to Jake, and find out a bit about him. It really wasn't as much of a big as Jake made it out to be, but there was something about the tall man that makes Jake unable to concentrate on anything else for the rest of the afternoon.

He decides to walk back to the hotel that evening, as it was still light out. Autumn was most definitely in the air, but it was so much different from what Jake remembers about this season.

He remembers being a little kid and playing in the thousands of maple leaves that fell from the tree in his front yard. The neighborhood kids would always stop by his house because he had the biggest leaf pile on the block. He was so proud of that. He remembers gran calling him and his friends up the steps for some cider and a pat on the head. 'Rascals,' she would say, but the crinkly smile always told him that she really meant 'I love you'. He misses all that. Because here, there were no leaves that fell to the ground by the hundreds; instead there were noisy city streets and beggars lined up beside them. There were lamp posts instead of trees. It was most definitely different.

Jake is at the intersection before the hotel when his memories finally cease. Instead, he focuses on a bright pink slip of paper that was crudely taped to the light post. It seemed to him that it was some sort of advertisement for a local band; interesting. He steps closer, beginning to read.

'October Halloween Concert', it read, 'Come see our amazing local band The Regals at Del Rio S.U this Saturday at 7 PM'.

Wow, that actually looked kind of fun to Jake. He takes a quick picture of the ad as a reminder; maybe he could meet some more friends. And to be able to listen to music while he was at it would be even better.

His gran would be proud of him.


	3. Chapter 3 - Text Savvy

[ Gosh sorry for such a short chapter. The next one will be longer. Anyway, on with the story!]

Wednesday and Thursday go by quicker than Jake expects. He finally moves into his own apartment about a five minute walk from campus; it's incredibly small yet just perfect for him. Adjusting to the culture in America is also pretty embarrassing for him. He tries to order french fries on Thursday afternoon and the waitress in the Mess Hall brings him a bag of potato crisps… _Weird_.

Not to mention that he's starting to develop a crush on Dirk. The blonde who sits next to him in physics has completely caught his attention. And it seems to Jake as if he has caught Dirk's too.

What really makes him notice is during the last five minutes of class that Friday. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees him rip a piece of paper out of his notebook and start to write something extremely quickly. Jake doesn't seem to think anything of it until Dirk taps him on his shoulder, handing the wadded up piece of paper to him. The bell rings, and Dirk flees, leaving Jake to open the note himself. What he finds surprises him.

"**Jake- **

**You should come to the concert this saturday in the Performing Arts Center. **

**Dirk (991)- 619- 4840** ".

He can't stop blushing because _oh my god, that's his phone number. That is his bloody phone number_. A number of questions raise from this discovery: _Does he call him now? Is this a prank? Does this mean he… Oh my god. Holy guacamole._

He decides after much deliberation to text him after his studies. As soon as he gets back to his apartment, he sits on one of the unpacked boxes and pulls out his phone. Shakily, he adds the number to his contacts and presses the message application.

**GT:** Is this Dirk Strider?

There's a reply not anymore than three minutes later.

**TT:** Indeed it is. Is this Jake?

Holy _crap_.

**GT:** Sure is! Hey chum it sure was nice of you to invite me to that concert. I was actually already thinking of going but with your offer, i certainly cant refuse!

**TT:** I'm glad to hear it. I'm happy you decided to go, because well.

**TT:** I need someone to go with.

Jake's heart stops.

**GT:** Well, that sure would be dandy! Er, sorry this is quite the loaded question…

**GT:** Will this be a date?

Dirk responds instantaneously.

**TT:** Absolutely.

Jake is so excited he can hardly type his response fast enough.

**GT:** Lovely, i'll be there for sure. Where should we meet?

**TT:** Physics class, and we can walk over.

**TT:** See you soon Jake.

**GT:** See you!

Jake is smiling from ear to ear, a light blush covering his freckled face. _I can hardly wait_, he thinks, reading the texts over and over and over again. So Dirk _is _interested in him. This is monumental! His first week in America and Jake English already has a date. He's hardly able to sleep a wink that night from how much he anticipates the next evening.


	4. Chapter 4 - Singing

[ There's an audio post that I've created for this chapter, you can find it here! : post/94450224537/skaiia-omg-im-sorry-for-totally-spamming ]

That Saturday couldn't come quick enough. At about six PM, Jake was busy fixing his hair for the fifteenth time that evening; it has to be perfect for his date. _His date_. Just saying that out loud sends a shiver down his spine. He puts on the new cologne he bought from the department store across the street, and gives his hair one final flip before texting Dirk again.

GT: I can't wait for tonight boyo! when should i meet you there?

A text delivers back to him within a couple seconds.

TT: In about fifteen minutes, is that alright? I gotta set up.

Jake didn't know what he meant by that, really. Maybe he meant getting ready? But no matter. He shoots a text back.

GT: Dandy. See you then!

Jake smiles to himself, checking himself over; teeth? nice and white. Hair? Good. Shirt? Admiral. He looks like a million bucks- okay that was too far fetched for the humble man to think. More like a hundred bucks. Still good, however, although he stands no chance against how gorgeous Dirk probably is by now. He slides his phone into his pocket, and takes the rickety elevator down to the apartment lobby.

Walking to the front of the physics class seems to him like quite the trek; not because it was physically difficult, but because of how many butterflies were felt fluttering around in his stomach. Everything else that could be occupying his mind at the current moment is being pushed out the window at light speed, leaving room for only one thought. Dirk. Dirk Strider, with his platinum blonde hair that always wefted to the side, and his silly looking shades that he just wished he would take off sometimes. _Golly it sure would be wonderful to see his eyes_, he thinks, kicking a bundle of leaves on the sidewalk as he waits.

Five minutes pass.

And Dirk starts to approach the class, a faint smile on his face and a leather jacket slung over his shoulder. He walks up to Jake, and runs his fingers through his hair slowly.

"You clean up well."

It's Jake's turn to smile now, looking up at him and adjusting his glasses.

"Not as well as you, I do say," he murmurs, twiddling his thumbs. And he isn't lying; Dirk looks amazing. _He'd look even better with his arm around me_, he thinks, looking down at his feet. He couldn't possibly say that out loud though. He's far too shy.

"Ready to go dude?" Dirk asks, placing a hand on his shoulder and sliding it down slowly. His hand eventually rests in Jake's, and he intertwines their fingers. Jake nods, turning a bit pink at the cheeks from the contact. He decides to spark conversation about the event, since quite honestly he has no idea who "The Regals" are.

"So tell me about this concert Dirk, is this a regular occurrence here?" He asks as they walk to the Performing Arts Centre across the courtyard.

"Uh yeah, but this year my band is performing instead of the ones from last year-"

"Wait. Your band? As in you play in this band?" Jake's jaw drops, looking up at him. No _way_. As if he could get any hotter. But somehow Dirk manages to do just that. "That's so neat!"

Dirk smiles, laughing a bit to himself. "Yeah, I'm lead singer. Bet you didn't expect that, did you?" He shrugs, chuckling again.

Damn right Jake doesn't expect that. "I had no idea you sang," he says, still in a state of awe.

"That I do. I'm singing a couple of older songs tonight for the concert."

"I can't wait to hear it." Jake wonders what his voice sounds like when he sings. Maybe it was husky and deep, which is so… so _sultry _to him that it hurts. He has trouble thinking about anything else until they walk through the doors where the concert will be held.

"Hey Jake I have to go set up," he says, squeezing his hand. "By the way.." Dirk smiles to himself, biting his lip. "You can definitely bet I'll be singing straight to you." It's then that Dirk does something Jake was definitely not expecting. He leans in, giving him a quick subtle peck on the cheek. It was fast, his soft lips ghosting over his freckled face and the fragrance of his cologne giving Jake a tease. And then he's gone, moving through the crowd around hoards of girls who were fawning over him from afar.

Jake is completely stunned. He puts his hand up to his face, gently touching the spot where Dirk had kissed him moments before. He turns red, and goes to find a seat about three rows from the front. The concert is about to begin, judging from the announcement in the loudspeaker.

"Ladies and gents please find a seat, the concert is gonna begin shortly," a man's voice says, filling up the room with a thick Texan drawl. The crowd settles for a moment, but as soon as the band members step on stage they're in an uproar once again.

"May I present to you," the same voice says, "The Regals!" More clapping and whistling, this time even louder than the time prior.

And then Dirk steps up to the mic. Jake's heartbeat slows, looking right at him. Dirk searches the crowd, but finally rests his eyes right back on Jake. He smiles, taking off his shades. _His eyes are stunning_; a light golden brown. He sits up forward in his seat as Dirk begins to talk.

"There's a special someone out there," he says, "that I met a couple of days ago and would like to dedicate this first song to." He turns, winking directly at Jake. "It's called The Big Bang." The crowd seems to know this song well, because they cheer happily at the selection. Jake, on the other hand, is so bright red he can hardly stand it. The uh. _The Big Bang_, he thinks, _that's... Quite the song name_.

"Hit it," Dirk mumbles into the microphone, and the song begins with a clash of the drums.

"_I don't wanna lie, I'm gonna take what you're givin', _

_Cause I know you're willing,_

_To take me all the way ya got me right here, combustible,_

_And I can't wait to finally explode,_" he sings, his voice low and seductive, making all the girls cheer. But he's not looking at them at all. He's got his eyes locked on Jake.

"_The Big Big Bang,_" he sings, winking, "_the reason I'm alive..._" It goes on and on, each lyric driving Jake more wild. He chews on his lip, batting his eyelashes. Some people are turning to look at him but he doesn't seem to care one bit. He keeps listening to his voice, completely infatuated.

"_And I'll take it from you if you got it, Every time, so baby bring your body here, next to mine, next to mine, because I don't wanna dream..._" Dirk belts out, smirking at Jake and biting his lip seductively at the end of the verse. Jake can hardly take it. He's blushing profusely, scratching at the back of his neck and his eyes are wide open. "_Dirk sure knows how to reel them in_," he mumbles to himself. _Bloody hell_.

The rest of the concert is a bit more toned down, with three more of their songs that were almost as good as the first. Almost. Before Jake knows it, the event is over. He hurries outside, waiting by the door so he could catch Dirk coming out. He's still blushing, looking down at the ground. He soon hears a familiar voice in front of him.

"What didja think?" Dirk drawls, tipping up Jake's chin so they're now eye to eye. His glasses are off, and Jake finally gets a closeup look at them. They aren't just golden, they're blazing, like a sunset orange. Positively gorgeous.

"I-It was amazing…" He trails off, stepping just a bit closer to the taller man. "Quite the song you picked."

Dirk laughs. "Yeah, I was hoping you'd kind of like it."

"I certainly did," Jake says, smiling up at him and letting his dimples show. "But hey I wanna give you a treat now," he says, as an idea sparks.

Dirk raises an eyebrow, but smiles. "I hope you're not trying to one-up me, Mr. English."

"No no! None of that I swear," he chuckles, "I just maybe wanted to go get some ice cream. Besides, I hardly know the area still."

"Well I'd certainly be delighted to help you out getting to know things," Dirk replies, ruffling his hair. "There's a place called Mandy's down the block a ways, we can walk there from here."

"Delightful," he says, taking Dirk's hand.

As they begin to walk, Dirk starts pointing out little shops and landmarks. "Over there is the town hall, and to the left is a real nice park. We should go there sometime."

"Is this an invitation for a second date Strider?" Jake shoots him a sly grin, bumping his arm with his elbow. Dirk simply smiles, and Jake notices he's blushing.

"Most definitely. Oh, here's Mandy's," he says, pointing up to a slightly disheveled neon sign with the 'd' flashing dimmer than the rest. "It's better than it looks, trust me," he says, snorting. Jake laughs softly, following him in.

Inside, the place is just about as decrepit as the sign out front. The seats have stuffing coming out of the cushions on occasion, but the bar looks clean. The shop is obviously 50's themed; one can say it's even overly so. There's so many posters and framed pictures and bright neon strips of lighting that Jake doesn't know where to look first. "Golly…"

Dikr leads him to the bar, and hands him a tiny pink menu. "They have the best root beer floats ever. Hey yo Roxy!" He shouts over to the other end of the bar, where a blonde girl is bent down organizing some cups. She immediately props herself up, smiling at Dirk.

"Heyyyyyy Dirk omg!-" she pauses, her eyes shifting over to Jake and then back. "Waaaaaait, is this the guy you were gushi-"

Dirk turns red, giving her a hand signal. "Shh-"

"ohhhhhh my god so you're Jake, right?" Roxy asks, pointing her manicured finger at him.

"U-Uh yes," Jake says. So Dirk was talking about him? "Dirk-"

"Shh honey I'll take care of yer confusion ok so basically Dirk has been talking about you ever since you met and he keeps saying how cuuuuute you are-"

"Roxy!"

Roxy cackles, holding her stomach. "Oh come on Dirk you know it's true!" Dirk falls silent as Jake looks at him, his face beet red. But Jake is smiling. A lot.

"That's so cute Dirk, goodness me." He leans forward, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. Dirk grumbles, but kisses his cheek in response before tending to Roxy.

"Just the usual for me sis."

Jake decides to take Dirk's suggestion and orders himself a root beer float. After he does so, he reaches over timidly to hold his hand. They stay like this, both smiling to themselves and squeezing the other's hand in comfortable silence. Occasionally, Dirk looks over at Jake and smiles, running his fingers through his hair. _He must know that drives me wild_, Jake thinks, grinning at him and batting his eyelashes.

In a few minutes Roxy comes back with their ice creams; a cherry milkshake for Dirk and a root beer float for Jake. Even as they eat their desserts, neither of the men seem to want to let go of each other's hands. Jake is nearly finished when Dirk snickers to himself.

"Hey why are you laughing-"

"You have a bit of ice cream on your face." Dirk snorts, covering his mouth to giggle.

"Hey don't laugh!" But Jake can't help but laugh himself. "Where is it?"

"Right…" Dirk then leans in, surprisingly close. Their lips are only an inch away. "Here," he mumbles, and finally closes the gap between the two. Their lips meet gently, and Jake's eyes seek to shut. Dirk pulls away after a moment, smiling to himself.

"You're good at that," Jake mumbles, his eyes flicking up to meet Dirk's.

"Likewise.." Dirk bites his lip, smiling a bit at him.

Jake can't do much but blush and smile back. Dirk is perfect.


End file.
